Pak wants India to commit itself to sincere talks

Pakistan today urged India to make a public commitment to sincerity before they begin peace talks following the recent confrontation in Kargil.

A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters that Pakistan was interested in a fruitful dialogue, but Indian intransigence had make talks in the past futile.'

"To my mind, India needs to commit herself clearly that the dialogue the two countries will enter into will be sincere and clearly leading us to a final settlement of the Kashmir issue," spokesman Tariq Altaf said.

On Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said it was up to Pakistan to initiate a dialogue on peace after derailing the previous peace process.

Singh, speaking in Singapore, reiterated that there was no place for a mediator in any talks between the two countries.

But Altaf alleged that India had used dialogue in the past to deflect international attention from the necessity of finding a just and final settlement to the Kashmir dispute.

Asked how India could give an assurance of its sincerity, Altaf said it could come through a public statement. "India can certainly declare that they commit themselves to a fruitful dialogue with Pakistan. That hitherto their attitude has been rigid, inflexible, intransigent, that their approach has not helped the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, and that they will approach this dialogue now with sincerity of purpose. That is a simple statement, commitment, which should be given, which I am sure will be appreciated by the entire international community," he said.